Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies. Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

The Doc Is In: The Phillies Win

After landing on the DL in late May, Roy Halladay has finally returned to the Phillies. And his comeback was just what the Doc ordered.

Halladay was on a pitch count to play it safe last night against the Dodgers. And while it took him a few innings to settle in, he looked pretty good after that. Doc pitched 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and did not walk anyone.

Early in the game though, it looked like the Phillies offense was not going to do much to help Doc out. Against a rookie pitcher making his major league debut, they managed only 1 run through 6 innings. The one run scored in the first as Chase Utley grounded out with a man on third.

Once the Phillies bullpen took over in the 6th inning, it was hard to imagine them keeping the 2-1 score close, based on recent past experience. But the Phils needed a late inning comeback in a bad way, which is something they have been unable to do all season. A lot of that had to do with the bullpen underperforming.

But on a Tuesday night in Hollywood, the script was flipped…finally. Five Phillies bullpen pitchers held the Dodgers to those 2 runs as if they had been doing it all year long. And that laid the groundwork for a Phillies comeback.

It was nothing too fancy, but with 2 outs in the 8th inning, the Phils took advantage of a walk and then 2 guys getting hit by pitches to load the bases. Hunter Pence came through in the clutch situation with a single up the middle to score 2 runs. The Phillies took a 3-2 lead and did not give it back.

That is 4 wins in a row for the Phillies! It seems like a LONG time since that has happened… But can they get 5? Cliff Lee will give it his best shot this afternoon in the finale; 1st pitch is scheduled for 3:10pm.

By the way, Halladay had some comments after the game in regards to the trade rumors surrounding Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino. He told Todd Zolecki, “It’s an organization that has been committed to winning and you want to see that continue and obviously there are points where they may have to reconsider how they’re going to go about that, but I hope that’s long after I’m gone to be honest with you.”

In other words, trade Hamels and Doc (and most of the rest of the team) is going to be real unhappy. How much weight does that carry with team management? That remains to be seen…

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